JP2003086299A - Connector for card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector for cards, which can detect the card certainly even if the card is not inserted deeply in the connector main part. SOLUTION: If the card 1 is inserted in the connector main part 10, the card 1 contacts to a projection part 40b of a elastic piece 40a, and each terminals 40 and 41 for card detection carry out conduction by elastic piece 40a. In this case, since the projection part 40b of the elastic piece 40a is arranged near the card insertion slot 10a, even if the card, which has been pushed out to a predetermined position by a discharge mechanism 30, is left behind without taking out the card 1 from the connector main part 10, the conduction state of each the terminals 40 and 41 for card detection is not canceled, but the card 1 can be detected even if the card 1 has not been connected to the terminal 20 by the side of the connector main part 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card connector for use in, for example, audio equipment for vehicles, portable terminals, personal computers and their peripherals, into which a so-called memory card is inserted and electrically connected. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a card connector of this type, as described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-185689, a connector main body having a card insertion port on one end side and the other end in the connector main body. It is known that a plurality of card connection terminals provided on the side and a card ejection mechanism for ejecting a card from the inside of the connector body are provided.

In this card connector, when the card is inserted all the way into the connector body, the card-side terminal and the card connecting terminal are electrically connected. The card in the connector body is ejected by a predetermined operation of the card ejection mechanism.

[0004]

By the way, in the above connector, by using a predetermined terminal among the card connecting terminals for detecting the card, the card is inserted into the connector main body by the connection of this terminal and the terminal on the card side. Is being detected.

Further, the card ejection mechanism is designed to eject the ejected card from the connector body by a predetermined amount, and the ejected card is manually taken out. Therefore, even if the card detection terminal on the connector body side is disconnected from the card side terminal by operating the card ejection mechanism, the card remains inserted in the insertion slot without being taken out from the connector body. There is a case.

However, for example, in some car audio equipment, the front of the card insertion slot is automatically opened / closed by detecting the presence / absence of a card in the connector body. In this case, if the card is not detected by the card detection terminal, even if the card is left without being removed from the connector body as described above, the cover of the card insertion port will close and contact with the card etc. was there.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to make it possible to reliably detect a card even if the card is not inserted all the way into the connector body. To provide.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a connector main body having a card insertion opening at one end and a plurality of cards provided at the other end of the connector main body. In a card connector provided with a connection terminal and a card detection means for detecting a card inserted in the connector body, the card detection means is provided in the vicinity of the card insertion slot.

Since the card detecting means is arranged in the vicinity of the card insertion slot, the card ejecting mechanism leaves the card protruding to a predetermined position without being taken out from the connector body. The card is detected by the card detection means even if it is not inserted all the way into the main body.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the card connector according to the first aspect, the card detecting means is inserted into the connector body and a pair of card detecting terminals arranged at predetermined positions of the connector body. It is composed of a conductive elastic member that brings the detection terminals into conduction or non-conduction with each other by contact with the card.

Thus, in addition to the function of the first aspect, the card is detected by the elastic member making the detection terminals conductive or non-conductive with each other by the contact with the card. To be detected.

[0012]

1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a card connector, FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view thereof, and FIGS. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the card detection terminal.

This connector has a connector body 10 into which a card 1 is inserted from one end side, a plurality of card connecting terminals 20 electrically connected to the card 1, and a card ejection mechanism 30 for ejecting a card from the inside of the connector body. And a pair of card detection terminals 40 and 41 for detecting the card 1 inserted in the connector body 10.

The card 1 has a recording medium capable of recording arbitrary data therein, and a plurality of terminals 1a electrically connected to the recording medium are provided at one end side thereof. Further, a first concave portion 1b and a second concave portion 1c which are engaged with the card ejection mechanism 30 of the connector are provided on one side of the one end side of the card 1.

The connector body 10 is composed of an upper housing 11 formed by molding a metal plate and a lower housing 12 formed by a synthetic resin integrally molded product.
The reference numerals 1 and 12 are formed so that the side surface portions thereof overlap each other. A space for housing the card 1 is formed between the housings 11 and 12, and a card insertion opening 10a is provided at one end of the connector body 10. Also,
A plurality of mounting pieces 11a are provided on the lower end of the upper housing 11, and the connector body 10 is mounted on a board or the like by each mounting piece 11a. Further, positioning marks 11b are provided on the upper surface of the upper housing 11 at the front and rear ends thereof, and each positioning mark 11b is formed by forming a triangular hole in the upper housing 11. The positioning mark 11b indicates the center of the connector body 10 in the width direction and is used for positioning when the connector is mounted on the board.

The card connection terminal 20 is a connector body 10.
Is arranged on the other end side of the lower housing 12 and is held in the lower housing 12 at intervals in the width direction. In this case, each terminal 2
One end side of 0 is arranged inside the connector body 10, and the other end side is arranged outside the connector body 10.

The card ejecting mechanism 30 is provided on one side of the connector body 10 and moves the first slide member 31 that moves in the card insertion direction together with the card 1 and the slide member 31 at a predetermined insertion position of the card 1. A lock piece 32 for locking and a slide member 31 by a pressing operation from the outside.
And a second slide member 33 that unlocks the lock.

The first slide member 31 has a long hole 11 in which an upper housing 11 has a protrusion 31a provided on the upper surface thereof.
It is movably engaged with b and has a card 1 on one side.
Has a first engaging portion 31b which engages with the first concave portion 1b, and a second engaging portion 31c which engages with the lock piece 32 is provided on the other side surface. An engaging spring 31d that engages with the second recess 1c of the card 1 is attached to one side surface of the first slide member 31, and the engaging spring 31d is a member that is elastically deformable in the width direction of the slide member 31. Is formed by. Further, the first slide member 31 is biased toward the one end side of the connector body 10 by the coiled spring 31e, and the engagement spring 31d is the spring 31e.
When the card 1 moves together with the first slide member 31 in the direction opposite to the card insertion, the engagement with the second recess 1c can be released only by a force larger than the force acting on the card 1 in the same direction. It has a great elasticity.

The lock piece 32 is provided on one side surface of the connector body 10, extends toward the other end side of the connector body 10, and its tip side extends from an opening 10b provided on one side surface of the connector body 10. It is bent diagonally inside. In this case, the lock piece 32 is integrally provided on the side surface portion of the upper housing 11 and is elastically deformable in the width direction of the connector body 10.

The second slide member 33 has a long hole 11 in which an upper housing 11 has a protrusion 33a provided on the upper surface thereof.
c is movably engaged with a pressing portion 33b located at one side of the card insertion slot 10a, and the pressing portion 33b extends to one side surface of the connector body 10. Is installed. The other end 33d of the second slide member 33 has the first slide member 31
When the second slide member 33 extends toward one side of the connector body 10 and moves toward the other end side of the connector body 10, the other end portion 3
3d contacts the inclined portion of the lock piece 32, and the lock piece 32 bends toward the outside of the connector body 10. In addition, the second slide member 33 is the spring 3
It is urged toward one end of the connector body 10 by 3e.

Further, inside the spring 31e of the first slide member 31, the card insertion direction (spring 31
A guide pin 34 extending in the e-expanding / contracting direction is inserted. The guide pin 34 is made of a metal rod-shaped member, and one end thereof is press-fitted and fixed in a hole 12 a provided on the other end side of the lower housing 12.

The card detecting terminals 40 and 41 are arranged on the other side of the connector body 10 and are held in the lower housing 12 at a distance from each other in the front-rear direction. One of the card detection terminals 40 has an elastic piece 40a extending toward the card insertion slot 10a as shown in FIG. 6 (a),
Its tip side extends to the vicinity of the card insertion slot 10a. Further, the connector body 10 is provided on the tip side of the elastic piece 40a.
A protrusion 40b protruding inward is provided, and the protrusion 40b
As shown in FIG. 6B, the elastic piece 40a is pressed against the other card detecting terminal 41 side by contact with the card 1 inserted into the connector body 10. That is, the other card detection terminal 41 has a contact portion 41a capable of contacting the elastic piece 40a. When the elastic piece 40a is pressed by the contact between the protrusion 40b and the card 1, the elastic piece 40a is pressed.
Are in contact with the contact portion 41a.

In the card connector constructed as described above, when the card 1 is inserted from the card insertion opening 10a of the connector body 10, the card 1 is inserted as shown in FIG.
The first recessed portion 1b is locked to the first locking portion 31b of the card ejection mechanism 30, and the first slide member 31 moves together with the card 1 toward the other end side of the connector body 10. At that time, the second recess 1c of the card 1 is engaged with the engagement spring 31d of the first slide member 31. Next, when the card 1 is inserted all the way into the connector body 10, the lock piece 32 of the card ejecting mechanism 30 is locked by the second locking portion 31c of the first slide member 31, and the first slide is performed. The member 31 is locked. In this case, the card 1 causes the first slide member 3 to move by the engagement of the second recess 1c and the engagement spring 31d.
It is held at 1.

Next, when the card 1 is discharged from the connector, the pressing portion 33b of the card discharging mechanism 30 is pressed, and the second slide member 33 faces the other end side of the connector body 10 as shown in FIG. The other end 33d comes into contact with the lock piece 32, the lock piece 32 bends to the outside of the connector body 10, and is disengaged from the second locking portion 31c of the first slide member 31. As a result, the lock of the first slide member 31 is released, and the first slide member 31 and the card 1 move toward the one end side of the connector body 10 by the spring 31e. At that time, the second concave portion 1c of the card 1 and the first slide member 3
Since the engagement with the first engagement spring 31d is not released, the other end side of the card 1 projects from the connector body 10 by an amount corresponding to the movement amount of the first slide member 31. Further, when the card 1 is taken out, the engagement between the card 1 and the engagement spring 31d is released by applying a force larger than the force applied to the card 1 by the spring 31e during the movement.

When the card 1 is inserted into the connector body 10, the card detecting terminals 40 and 41 detect the card 1, and the card detecting circuit (not shown) connected to the card detecting terminals 40 and 41. Will be switched to the card insertion state. In this case, since the protrusion 40b of the elastic piece 40a which conducts the respective card detection terminals 40 and 41 by contact with the card 1 is arranged in the vicinity of the card insertion slot 10a, for example, the card ejection mechanism 30 provides a predetermined position. Even if the card 1 protruding up to and left behind is not removed from the connector body 10, the conductive state of the card detection terminals 40 and 41 is not released. Therefore, even if the card 1 is not connected to the terminal 20 on the connector body 10 side, the card 1
Is detected inside the connector body 10, and the card 1
When the card is removed and the conductive state of the card detection terminals 40 and 41 is released, the card detection circuit is switched to the card non-inserted state.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the card detecting terminals 40 and 41 for detecting the card 1 are provided in the vicinity of the card insertion opening 10a, so that the card 1 is inserted all the way into the connector body 10. Even if the card 1 is not operated, the card 1 can be reliably detected. In this case, when the card 1 comes into contact with the protrusion 40b provided on the elastic piece 40a of one of the card detecting terminals 40, the card detecting terminals 40 and 41 are electrically connected to each other. It is possible to detect the card 1.

In the above embodiment, the card detecting terminals 40 and 41 are made conductive by contact with the card 1. However, the card detecting terminals 40 and 41 are not in contact with the card 1. Alternatively, the card 1 may be detected in a state where the card 1 is brought into a non-conductive state by being brought into contact with the card 1.

In the above embodiment, the card 1 is ejected by pressing the pressing portion 33b of the card ejecting mechanism 30. However, the card ejecting mechanism is composed of another mechanism. May be. For example,
The card may be ejected by a spring when the card inserted in the connector body is pushed further inward and the pressing force is released.

7 to 11 show a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the structure of the card ejection mechanism is different from that of the first embodiment. That is, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the card connector,
FIG. 8 is a plan sectional view thereof, and FIGS. 9 to 11 are diagrams for explaining the operation thereof. The same components as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals.

The card ejecting mechanism 50 shown in the figure is a slide member 51 that moves together with the card 1 in the card insertion direction.
And a lock member 52 that locks and unlocks the slide member 51 at a predetermined insertion position of the card 1 by pressing the card 1.

The slide member 51 is provided on one side of the connector body 10 and engages with a locking portion 51a which locks with the first recess 1b of the card 1 and a second recess 1c of the card 1. It has an engaging spring 51b. The slide member 51 is biased toward the one end side of the connector body 10 by the coil-shaped spring 51c, as in the first embodiment, and inside the spring 51c, the card insertion direction (the expansion and contraction direction of the spring 51c). Guide pin 5 extending to
3 is inserted.

The lock member 52 is provided on one side of the connector body 10 and is arranged on the card insertion port 10a side with respect to the slide member 51. This locking member 52
Has first, second, and third grooves 52a, 52b, and 52c for engaging the engaging member 54 that moves together with the slide member 51, and the engaging member 54 moves in accordance with the movement of the slide member 51. , 52b, 52c.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8, when the slide member 51 moves to the inner side of the connector body 10 by inserting the card 1, the engaging member 54 moves from one end side to the other end side of the first groove 52a. Then, when the pressing of the card 1 is released, the slide member 51 is slightly returned by the spring 51c in the direction opposite to the card insertion, and the engaging member 54 is moved to the first position.
The second groove 52a moves from the other end of the groove 52a. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, the engaging member 54 moves into the second groove 5
The slide member 51 is locked by being locked to one end side of 2a.

When the card 1 is to be ejected, as shown in FIG.
When the card 1 is pressed in the insertion direction as shown in FIG. 5, the slide member 51 moves slightly in the card insertion direction, the engagement member 54 moves from the second groove 52a to the third groove 52c, and the slide member 51 moves. The lock is released. Next, card 1
When the pressing of the engaging member 54 is released, as shown in FIG.
Moves to one end side of the lock member 52 along the third groove 52c, and the slide member 51 and the card 1 move toward one end side of the connector body 10 by the spring 51c.

Thus, the connector of this embodiment is the first
Although the configuration of the card ejection mechanism 50 is different from that of the first embodiment, the card 1 is connected to the connector body 10 by the card detection terminals 40 and 41 provided in the vicinity of the card insertion opening 10a.
Even if the card 1 is not inserted all the way inside, the card 1 can be reliably detected.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the card ejecting mechanism is shown, but the card ejecting mechanism is not provided and the card can be directly inserted into and removed from the connector body while holding the card. The present invention can also be applied to.

[0037]

As described above, according to the card connector of the first aspect, the card can be surely detected even if the card is not inserted all the way into the connector body. If the front of the card slot is automatically opened / closed by detecting the presence or absence of the card, the cover of the card slot will remain open even if the card is not removed from the connector body. It is extremely advantageous when it is used in such a device, since it does not cause a problem such as being closed and coming into contact with the card.

According to the card connector of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the card can be reliably detected by the simple structure, so that the reliability is improved and the cost is reduced. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a card connector showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view of a card connector.

FIG. 3 is a plan cross-sectional view of the card connector when the card is inserted.

FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view of the card connector showing a locked state.

FIG. 5 is a plan cross-sectional view of the card connector, showing the time of card ejection.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a card detection terminal.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a card connector showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan sectional view of a card connector.

FIG. 9 is a plan sectional view of the card connector showing a locked state.

FIG. 10 is a plan sectional view of the card connector showing an unlocked state.

FIG. 11 is a plan cross-sectional view of the card connector showing the time of card ejection.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Card, 10 ... Connector main body, 20 ... Card connection terminal, 30 ... Card ejection mechanism, 40, 41 ... Card detection terminal, 40a ... Elastic piece, 50 ... Card ejection mechanism.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 5B058 CA13                 5E021 FA05 FB18 FC38 HC36 JA01                       KA09 MA20                 5E023 AA04 AA21 BB19 DD19 EE40                 5E348 AA03 AA13 AA25 EE19 EF04

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A connector main body having a card insertion opening on one end side, a plurality of card connection terminals provided on the other end side of the connector main body, and card detection means for detecting a card inserted in the connector main body. A card connector comprising: a card connector, wherein the card detection means is provided in the vicinity of a card insertion port. 2. The card detecting means comprises a pair of card detecting terminals arranged at a predetermined position of a connector main body, and a card inserted into the connector main body brought into contact with each other so that the respective detecting terminals are electrically connected or not electrically connected to each other. 2. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein the card connector is formed of a conductive elastic member that is brought into a state.